Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White and the Huntsman. This is a movie with oodles of visual style. The sets, props, landscapes, and costuming were beautiful, with the sad exception of the chainmail, which looked terrible. Unfortunately, some other parts of the movie were lacking:
The plot was predictable and uninspired. I feel a little bad complaining about this in a fairy tale adaptation, but it’s true anyway. Still, this wouldn’t have bothered me all that much except:
The dialogue wasn’t all that great either. This, actually, rarely bothered me because the acting was quite good, except:
Kristen Stewart. I don’t particularly have anything against the girl, though my anti-Twilight bias is probably a factor, but as far as I can tell her major asset as an actress is her ability to breathe heavily. Which she does, frequently. This isn’t to say that her performance was terrible. She had her moments. But unlike some of the other actors, who were able to deliver mediocre dialogue in a way that made it tolerable, if not fantastic, Stewart muffed a key moment. She needed to make an impassioned speech, and she delivered it with plenty of vacant overacting, and not a trace of real passion.
So, pros: lush visuals (though the filmmakers might have loved their focus changes a bit too much). Lovely special effects, particularly the aging. Chris Hemsworth.
Cons: light on plot and dialogue; Kristen Stewart.
And, since that was a pretty darn critical review, I should clarify that I enjoyed this movie. I enjoyed it quite a lot. I just think it should have been better than it was. This isn’t one of the best movies of the year, but it’s not a waste of money either, to my mind.


1. The Avengers
2. The Cabin in the Woods
3. The Secret World of Arrietty
4. Hunger Games
5. The Lorax
6. Snow White and the Huntsman
7. Mirror, Mirror
8. John Carter